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SCHOOL LEADER SURVEY QUESTIONS

Survey Instructions

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), with its contractor [TBD], is conducting a study of the 

School Turnaround AmeriCorps program, a partnership between CNCS and the Department of Education. The purpose of 

the study is to learn about how AmeriCorps programs are being implemented and how they are helping schools 

improve. 

You have been selected to complete a survey as part of the study. Your perspective is very important, so please answer 

honestly. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. Refusing to participate will not involve any penalty or 

affect your [AmeriCorps status] [employment] in any way. It also will have no effect on your relationship with your 

school. It should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete the survey. We understand that your school may have 

interactions with multiple AmeriCorps programs. Answer the questions based only on your experience with the School 

Turnaround AmeriCorps program at your school this year.

All responses are anonymous and your responses will be kept confidential to the extent provided by law. Under no 

circumstances will anyone from your AmeriCorps program/school have access to any information that can be 

attributable to you. The information you provide in the survey will be summarized with the information from other 

respondents and included in a report that will be shared with your AmeriCorps program and with CNCS.

Please contact XXXX of XXXX, at XXX-XXX-XXXX or XXXX, if you have any questions regarding this research. 

[Note: Most questions will be asked at both grantee and comparison schools, though questions asking specifically about 

School Turnaround AmeriCorps will only be asked at grantee schools. Most, but not all, questions will be asked at both 

the beginning and the end of the school year.]
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1. What is your title/role? (principal, assistant principal, site director, school superintendent, district curriculum chair, local 

school board member, district level official, other, please specify_____)

2. How many years total have you worked at this school, including this year? _____

 (If this is your first year at this school, enter 1.)

3. Briefly describe your school’s turnaround plan.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What change model does your school follow?

__ Turnaround

__ Transformation

__ Restart

5. This school year, how many AmeriCorps members served at your school as part of the School Turnaround AmeriCorps

program? ____

 On average, how many hours per week did each AmeriCorps members serve? ____

On average, how many weeks did AmeriCorps members spend in your school? ____

 

6. To the best of your knowledge, did School Turnaround AmeriCorps members provide direct services to individual 

students or to the whole classroom or school? (Check all that apply.)

__ AmeriCorps programming was targeted to individual students

__ AmeriCorps programming supported the whole classroom

__ AmeriCorps programming supported all students in the school

7. Do you know which students were served by School Turnaround AmeriCorps members? 

Yes: _____ No: _____ Sometimes but not always: _____ 

8. For this school year, please indicate your level of agreement/disagreement with each of the elements listed below:

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree

Strongly 

Agree

Not 

Applicable

a. Teachers in this school are supportive of the 

AmeriCorps program.

b. AmeriCorps members are integrated into regular staff 

meetings and communication.

c. The principal and/or school leadership team 

communicates a clear vision of turnaround to 

AmeriCorps members.

d. The principal and/or school leadership team monitors 

performance and progress of implementation of 

turnaround activities at this school.

e. The principal and/or school leadership monitor 

performance and progress of implementation of 

turnaround activities at this school.

f. The principal and/or school leadership team monitors 

performance and progress of students and share this 

information with AmeriCorps members.

9. How important are the following characteristics to successfully implementing School Turnaround AmeriCorps program in 

your school(s)? 
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Not at all 

important

Somewhat 

important Important Very important

Not 

Applicable

a. Orientation and training of AmeriCorps members 

before they serve at the school

b. Comprehensive trainings of AmeriCorps members and 

program support staff during their year(s) of service

c. Multi-layered supervisory structure to ensure fidelity of 

program implementation

d. Defined framework (e.g. RTI) to guide objective 

instructional choices and allow for the assessment of 

program effectiveness

e. Limited set of highly scripted interventions that have 

been shown to be effective (i.e. research based) in 

engendering desired student-level outcomes

f. Aligning AmeriCorps activities to the strategies outlined 

in the school’s turnaround plan

g. Recruitment and selection process that is effective in 

identifying members with characteristics that 

correspond with the programs objectives

10. What do you consider to be the most important school turnaround outcomes for students over the next two years? 

(Check all that apply.)

___ Enhanced academic achievement

___Improved grades

___Improved completion of assignments

___Increased motivation

___Increased self-esteem

___ Improved attendance

___Improved socio-emotional health

___Improved behavior

___Other. If other, please specify __________________

11. Please fill in the following table about school turnaround outcomes for students.

Was there improvement in this area at 

your school(s) this year?

If you marked “Yes,” what were the 

outcomes with the greatest degree of 

improvement, across the school(s)? 

Rank, with 1=Greatest improvement. Do 

not rank outcomes where you marked 

“No.”

Enhanced academic achievement, as 

measured by standardized assessments

___Yes ___No

Improved grades ___Yes ___No

Improved completion of assignments ___Yes ___No

Increased motivation ___Yes ___No

Increased self-esteem ___Yes ___No

Improved attendance ___Yes ___No

Improved socio-emotional health ___Yes ___No

Improved behavior ___Yes ___No

Other: __________________________ ___Yes ___No

12. Please indicate your level of agreement/disagreement with the following statements about your school this year. (Mark 

one response in each row.)
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My school ... Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

Don’t 

Know

Not 

Applicable

a. Offers students a supportive and inviting 

environment within which to learn.

b. Sets high standards for academic performance for all 

students.

c. Prompts academic success for all students.

d. Emphasizes helping students academically when they 

need it.

e. Provides adequate counseling and support services 

for students.

f. Emphasizes teaching lessons in ways relevant to 

students.

g. Offers staff a supportive and inviting environment 

within which to work.

h. Promotes trust and collegiality among staff.

i. Provides the materials, resources, and training 

(professional development) needed to do your job 

effectively.

j. Provides the materials, resources, and training 

(professional development) needed to work with 

special education (IEP) students.

k. Encourages opportunities for students to decide 

things like class rules.

l. Gives all students equal opportunity to participate in 

classroom discussions or activities.

m. Gives all students equal opportunity to participate in 

a variety of extracurricular activities.

n. Gives all students equal opportunity to participate in 

a variety of enrichment activities.

o. Gives students opportunities to “make a difference” 

by helping other people, the school, or the 

community (e.g., service learning).

p. Encourages students to enroll in rigorous courses 

(such as honors and AP), regardless of race, ethnicity, 

or nationality.

q. Emphasizes using instructional materials that reflect 

the culture or ethnicity of our students.

r. Has staff examine their own cultural biases through 

professional development.

s. Considers closing the racial/ethnic achievement gap a 

high priority.

t. Fosters an appreciation of student diversity and 

respect for one another.

u. Emphasizes showing respect for all students’ cultural 

beliefs and practices.

v. Clearly communicates to students the consequences 

of breaking school rules.

w. Handles discipline problems fairly.

x. Effectively handles student discipline and behavioral 

problems.

y. Is a safe place for students.

z. Is a safe place for staff.

aa. Is welcoming to and facilitates parent involvement.
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My school ... Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

Don’t 

Know

Not 

Applicable

bb. Makes information and resources available to 

parents/guardians about how they can support their 

children’s education.

cc. Has clean and well-maintained facilities and property

dd. Has sufficient teaching staff to meet the needs of 

students.

ee. Has sufficient support staff to meet the needs of 

students.

13. Please indicate whether the following topics represent challenges in your school this year. (Mark one response in each 

row.)

Not a challenge Moderate 

challenge

Severe challenge

a. Student academic performance

b. Student behavior and discipline

c. Student engagement in school

d. Student attendance

e. Student safety

f. Student aspirations for college and/or career

g. Student fatigue/lack of sleep

h. Student alcohol and drug use

i. Student tobacco use

j. Harassment or bullying among students

k. Physical fighting between students

l. Disruptive student behavior

m. Racial/ethnic conflict among students

n. Student depression or other mental health problems

o. Lack of respect of staff by students

p. Cutting classes or being truant

q. Gang-related activity

r. Weapons possession

s. Vandalism (including graffiti)

t. Theft

14. Please indicate your level of agreement/disagreement with the following statements about your school. (Mark one in 

each row.)

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree

Strongly 

Agree

Not 

Applicable

a. Students take their school work seriously.

b. Students treat each other with respect.

c. Students treat teachers with respect.

d. Students treat AmeriCorps members with respect

e. Teachers and other school staff communicate and 

collaborate.

f. Families play an active role in our school.
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15. Please indicate your level of agreement/disagreement with the following statements about community involvement and 

partnerships with your school. (Mark one response in each row.) 

This school works with organizations in the community to ... Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree

Strongly 

Agree

Not 

Applicable

a. Provide academic enrichment, extended learning time or other 

academic supports to students.

b. Make appropriate support services available to students with 

special needs.

c. Deliver wraparound services and non-academic (social/emotional)

supports to students.

d. Increase awareness about and access to health resources/services 

(e.g. targeting drug use, mental health, teen pregnancy).

e. Expose students to post-secondary education opportunities and 

increase student interest in and knowledge about college.

f. Connect parents/guardians to information and resources to help 

them support their children’s education.

16. For this school year, please indicate how satisfied you are with each of the elements listed below:

Very 

Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied

Very 

Satisfied

Not 

Applicable

a.Overall quality of AmeriCorps programming.

b.Communication and collaboration between teachers and 

AmeriCorps members.

c. Communication and collaboration between school 

leadership and AmeriCorps members.

d.Communication between school leadership and grantee

staff.

e.Collaboration between school leadership and grantee

staff.

f. Implementation of the roles and responsibilities outlined 

in the school partnership agreements

g. Placement of members in meaningful service activities

h. Referral of students to receive services offered by 

AmeriCorps members

i. Matching of members to students in need of academic 

strengthening and social/emotional supports

17. In your opinion, how successful was the School Turnaround AmeriCorps program in the following areas this year? (Mark 

one response in each row.)

Very 

Unsuccessful

Somewhat 

Unsuccessful

Somewhat 

Successful

Very 

Successful

a. Overall success of the AmeriCorps program

b. AmeriCorps program’s success in improving student 

academic achievement

c. AmeriCorps program’s success in improving student socioemotional health

d. AmeriCorps program’s success in improving school climate

e. AmeriCorps program’s success in improving the school’s 

capacity to implement its turnaround model
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18. Please indicate your level of agreement/disagreement with the following statements about your school. (Mark one 

response in each row.)

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree

Strongly 

Agree

Not 

Applicable

a. AmeriCorps members offer supports that are beneficial 

to the teachers in this school.

b. AmeriCorps members provide helpful support to the 

students in this school.

c. AmeriCorps members engage parents/guardians to 

become involved in their children’s school 

d. AmeriCorps members provide access to information 

and resources to parents/guardians about how they can 

support their children’s education.

e. AmeriCorps activities occur frequently enough to be 

valuable.

f. AmeriCorps members are important partners in 

improving student outcomes.

19. Which School Improvement Grant strategies were influenced the most by the School Turnaround AmeriCorps members

this school year? 

Please rank on a scale of 1 to 6, where 1=Impacted Most and 6=Impacted Least.

___ Family and community engagement

___School culture and environment 

___Academic achievement

___Graduation rates 

___College enrollment rates 

___Increased learning time

20. Please indicate the level of influence School Turnaround AmeriCorps members had over the following elements of your 

school’s turnaround goals? (Mark one response in each row.)

No

influence

Minimal 

influence

Some 

Influence

Substantial 

influence

Not 

applicable

a. Improving academic performance in ELA and/or math 

b. Increasing rates of high school graduation 

c. Increasing college readiness and enrollment rates 

d. Providing ongoing mechanisms for family and community 

engagement

e. Establishing a school culture and environment that fosters

school safety, attendance, and discipline 

21. Currently, does your school have direct access to student-level data from the statewide longitudinal data system, access 

to district- or state-generated reports based on data from the state system, access to both types of information, or access 

to neither? If so, are those data available for each individual student or is it only provided at the classroom, grade, or 

school level? (Mark all that apply.)

Reports for core academic subjects Reports on behavior, discipline, nonacademic performance

Types of data District –generated State-generated District –generated State-generated

Student level data

Classroom level data

School level data